North Penn downs Downingtown East, gets to 2-0 for first time since ’09

TOWAMENCIN >> Labor Day could start a little early for North Penn.

The Knights put in the work and there was plenty to celebrate, its 23-7 victory over rival Downingtown East providing the team its first 2-0 start since 2009.

The churning legs of Ricky Johns and a total of seven great grabs by wide receiver Justis Henley — he caught six passes from quarterback Reece Udinski and snared another by East quarterback Bryce Lauletta to lock things up — guided the Knights to another impressive win over one of the district’s best.

“We made a lot of mistakes this game — it wasn’t a perfect game,” Henley said. “We played hard and we battled. And we got the win.”

North Penn overcame a sluggish start — the Knights had three penalties in the first half and allowed a pair of sacks — to take a 7-0 lead just before halftime.

On 4th-and-13 at the East 18, Udinski hit Henley over the middle, and the speedy junior wideout was able to turn the corner and sprint into the end zone, breaking the scoreless tie with 1 minute, 21 seconds left in a tightly-contested first half.

“I thought Reece really looked for me and gave me opportunities,” said Henley, who would finish with six catches for 142 yards and a score. “I just wanted to make a play on the ball.”

The play provided quite a boost for North Penn going into halftime, but to its credit, East wasted no time getting right back in it. Ethan Harris fielded the short second-half kickoff by the Knights, found a seam, and was on his way to a 55-yard return, setting the Cougars (1-1) up with a 1st-and-10 at the NP 18.

Four plays later, Daniel Liaudaitis crashed in from eight yards out, tying the game at seven apiece.

“We had a couple plays in the special teams. We had a couple,” Cougars coach Mike Matta said. “We think we can run the ball better than we did. We ran it at times and then other times we didn’t. It’s a credit (to North Penn). We thought we would we better than we were.”

Liaudaitis gained 89 yards on 21 carries, but part of the problem for the Cougars was that North Penn kept East’s offense off the field. The Knights dominated plays from scrimmage, by a whopping margin of 70-37.

“We started off slow and I don’t think we blocked well up front,” Beck said. “So we have to pick that up a little bit. But I think as a whole, we stepped it up when it was time to step it up.”

A deep 40-yard strike to Henley helped set up a 22-yard field goal by Kelly Macnamara, pushing the Knights in front, 10-7, midway through the third.

On East’s ensuing possession, the Cougars faced a 4th-and-1 at their own 33, and decided to go for it. North Penn’s line clogged up the middle, allowing no gain.

“It was time to suck it up,” Beck said. “It was obvious they were gonna put the big guys in and run (Liaudaitis) down the middle. We’re not big up front so we kind of got low, got some penetration. It was good to get a stop there.”

The Knights needed just five plays to cash in, with a 15-yard reception by Owen Thomas setting up a one-yard scoring plunge by Johns, making it 17-7 with just a couple minutes to play in the third.

North Penn had seven different players carry the football and five different receivers catching passes.

“Spread the ball around,” Johns said. “That’s the strength of our team.”

The Cougars were driving early in the fourth when — on 1st-and-10 at the NP 38 — Lauletta lofted a deep pass down the right sideline for Noah Hahn but Henley intercepted.

“I got caught looking in the backfield a little bit but once I realized it was a pass, I just tried to catch up,” Henley said with a big smile afterwards. “I turned my head and tried to make a play on the ball.”

The ball was soon back in the hands of Johns, who found a crack and broke away for a 57-yard gain that set up the clinching touchdown, an eight-yard strike from Udinski to Thomas.

Johns, his uniform a mix of dirt, grass and Columbia blue, gained 96 tough yards on 17 carries. A fantastic deep threat, headed to West Virginia next year, Johns’ versatility allowed the Knights to make up for the loss of running back Nick Dillon, who is nursing an injury and had just one carry.

Added to that is the play of Henley, who has come on strong in the two victories.

“We’ve always thought he’s gonna be special,” Beck said. “If we had gotten protection early, he was open a couple of times deep. But we just kind of broke down up front, which hurt us a little bit.”

East had to contend with Johns, Henley, a tremendous North Penn defense, as well as a tested senior quarterback in Udinski (18-of-34, 264 yds, 2 TD; 8 car/22 yds).

“We were hoping to get them off the field on 3rd-and-long,” Matta said of the Knights, who were 9-for-15 on converting third downs into firsts, and also had a touchdown on fourth down. “The three times we played them (the last two seasons), we beat them once (in Week Three last year) because we got them off the field on 3rd-and-long.

“This time, we didn’t, and in the playoff game last year we didn’t. That, to me, was the difference in the game. Their quarterback is a heady kid. He held it when he had to hold it. He extended plays. He got rid of it quick when he had to. I put him as a high school version of Ben Roethlisberger. He runs just enough, extends plays just enough.”

Top Photo: North Penn’s Jake Hubler celebrates Justis Henley’s touchdown against Downingtown East at Crawford Stadium on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)